Holly Madison’s engagement ring truly is a sight to behold. The 18-carat cushion-cut yellow diamond, surrounded by pink and yellow diamond flowers, had our readers oohing and aahing this week when we showed a close-up of it. Check out our original story here.

Even more remarkable, it was created by an amateur.

“My fiancé [Pasquale Rotella] designed it himself, because I told him that’s what would make it most special,” the former Girls Next Door star, 33, told PEOPLE. (Okay, celebrity jeweler Alan Friedman helped Rotella out with it.)

Put on some protective eyewear and look a little closer, and you’ll even see some special hidden touches in the ring. “Because we love owls, there is a hidden owl engraved on the rose gold in between two of the flowers,” Madison says. “The band is art nouveau-inspired, to go with the flowers.”

Of course, an over-the-top ring needs an over-the-top proposal to go with it. And Rotella did not disappoint there, either.

He popped the question last Sunday at the top of a Ferris wheel in Las Vegas.